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THE 


OCT  24  1932 


H  E  A  V  E  X  L  Y      L  A  X  D 


FROM    THE 


JBt  (Kontemptu  fBuntrt 


BERNARD  DE   MORLAIX  MONK   OF  CLUNY  (XII.  CENTURY) 

RENDERED  INTO   CORRESPONDING 

ENGLISH   VERSE 


SAMUEL  W.  DUFFIELD 


NEW    YORK 
Anson    I) .    K .    Randolph 

770    Broadway 

1867 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867,  by 

ANSON  D.  F.   RANDOLPH, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of 
New  York. 


Bradstreet  Press. 


To  Him 

WHOSE  LOVE  ENCOURAGED  THIS  WORK  j 
WHO  HAS  BEEN  THROUGHOUT 

Brother  more  than  Father; 

I  Dedicate 

THIS      POO  It      ILLUSTRATION      OF 
A    NOBLE    POEM. 


DE     HAC    POEMA. 


How  grand  these  monkish  lines  appear, 
Kept  purely  through  a  bitter  time  ; 
What  noble  rhyme 

And  what  a  grace  is  here  ! 

How  sweetly  full  and  calmly  strong 

They  sweep  our  weaker  thought  on  high- 
To  what  a  sky 

They  urge  our  hope  along  ! 

0  rare  Bernard  !   I  doubt  no  more 

At  that  which  seemed  support  divine, 
For,  line  by  line, 
Shines  through  the  Further  Shore. 

Old  monk  !   might  I  but  see  the  day 
Which  thou  beholdest,  where  is  done 
This  feeble  sun? 

Where  earth  has  passed  away  ; 

1  would  not  reckon  heat  or  cold, 

Or  sadness  or  deep-graven  grief, 
Since  such  relief 
Attends  those  streets  of  gold. 
I 


K&g^r^  yv 

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El 

■gpT* 

Qj^ 

W^C^p3 

BsK 

^^T^ 

IJsKSi 

INTRODUCTION. 


NOW  and  then,  down  the  long  years  of  the 
world,  the  heavenly  glory  seems  to  have 
broken  in  upon  mankind.  Now  and  then  its  light 
has  pierced  even  the  gloom  of  the  Dark  Ages,  and 
has  brightened  the  cell  of  some  poor  and  lonelv 
monk  with  more  than  earthly  radiance.  And  while 
we  remember  Enoch,  who  "  walked  with  God,"  and 
Stephen,  who  looked  "  steadfastly  up  into  Heaven," 
and  Paul,  "  caught  up"  by  celestial  power,  and 
John  on  Patmos,  "  in  the  spirit  on  the  Lord's  Day," 
we  should  not  forget  those  other,  though  later  ones, 
to  whom  it  seemed  as  though  they  gazed  across  the 
boundary  stream,  and  saw,  in  very  truth,  the  splen- 
dor of  the  Heavenly  Land. 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

Such  a  man  was  Bernard  de  Morlaix,  the  Monk 
of  Cluny,  whose  poem  I  bring  you  here.  Although 
he  designed  the  "  De  Contemptu  Mundi"  as  a  cen- 
sure to  the  abuses  of  his  time,  he  could  not  conceal 
the  longings  which  were  in  his  soul.  And  although 
he  was  no  saint,  in  title,  like  his  contemporary  and 
namesake,  Bernard,  Abbot  of  Clairvaulx,  he  was 
still  a  saint,  indeed.  We  feel  the  reality  of  his 
hope  ;  and  while  we  stand  in  wonder  at  the  mar- 
vellous versification  (unparalleled  by  any  before  or 
since),  we  are  more  impressed  than  ever  by  its  fine 
simplicity.  Those  of  his  words  which  relate  to 
heaven  have  lived,  because  they  could  not  die.  Such 
strains  of  lofty  confidence  appeal  to  every  Christian 
heart,  encouraging  the  strong,  and  raising  to  better 
efforts  the  doubting  and  the  faint.  Pilgrims  our- 
selves, as  we  trust,  to  those  holy  portals,  we  have 
here  one  of  the  purest  and  noblest  of  all  pilgrim- 
songs. 

His  poem  consists  of  three  books,  containing,  in 
all,  some  three  thousand  lines,  and  was  written  about 
the  year  1145.  Living  chiefly  in  the  memory  of 
Protestants,  it  has  yet,  until  very  recently,  been 
entirely  unknown  through  any  English  translation. 


INTRODUCTION.  jx 

The  original  is  so  rare,  indeed,  that  a  full  copy  is 
not  to  be  found  in  the  United  States. 

For  its  discovery  and  appreciation,  we  are  indebted 
to  Archbishop  Trench.  He  has  taken  from  various 
parts  of  the  longer  poem  ninety-six  lines,  which  de- 
scribe the  glories  of  the  Heavenly  Land,  and  has 
published  them  in  his  "  Sacred  Latin  Poetry,"  in  a 
connected  shape.  But  as  Daniel,  in  his  "  The- 
saurus," has,  for  some  reason,  given  Bernard  of 
Clunv  simply  a  passing  reference,  this  is,  therefore, 
the  only  place  from  which  we,  on  our  side  of  the 
water,  derive  a  knowledge  of  his  work.  In  the  latest 
edition  of  his  volume,  Trench  extends  our  informa- 
tion a  little  further.  The  poem  is  first  found  in 
Flacius  Illyricus,  Poemm.  de  Corrupto  Ecclesice  Statu,  p. 
247.  It  has  passed,  according  to  Mohnike,  through 
four  editions,  "  to  which,"  says  Trench,  "  I  could 
add  a  fifth."  It  was  dedicated  to  Peter  the  Vener- 
able, by  its  author  \  and  this  dedication  furnishes  us 
the  monk's  own  account  of  the  difficulty  of  his  task. 
It  was  first  printed  at  Breme,  1597. 

Shortly  after  its  republication,  the  grandeur  of  the 
composition  aroused  the  interest  of  the  Rev.  John 
Mason   Neale,   and   encouraged  him  to  attempt  its 


x  INTRODUCTION. 

translation.  He  did  so,  and,  in  its  sweet,  earnest 
aspiration,  his  poem,  "  The  Celestial  Country," 
known  also  as  "  Jerusalem  the  Golden,"  most 
amply  represents  the  older  hymn.  It  is  even, 
in  the  judgment  of  a  recent  writer,  u  better  than 
c  De  Contemptu  Mundi.'  "  In  spirit,  the  rendering 
is  perfect — yet,  in  fact,  "  The  Celestial  Country"  is 
an  original  composition  with  Dr.  Neale.  It  has 
been  most  wonderfully  popular,  in  whole  or  in 
parts,  and  nothing  but  this  can  be  said  against  its 
merit. 

On  this  ground,  then,  Dr.  Abraham  Coles,  of 
Newark,  N.  J.,  has  endeavored  to  attain  a  more 
literal  rendering  of  the  "  Laus  Patriae  Coelestis,"  as 
the  cento  has  been  named.  His  fourteen  versions  of 
the  "  Dies  Irae"  have  placed  him  in  the  front  rank 
of  translators,  and  his  ability  is  beyond  dispute. 
And  yet  the  anapests  which  he  employs  fail  to  carry 
into  our  language  the  sounding  dactyls  of  the  Latin. 
His  lengthening  of  the  third  portion  of  the  line  is  a 
liberty,  moreover,  which  does  not  enhance  the  com- 
pactness of  the  version.  While  he  is  at  times  re- 
markably literal,  and  while  he  represents  better  than 
any  previous  translator  the  exact  expressions  of  the 


INTRODUCTION.  XJ 

original   poem,  he  lacks  that   soaring  fervor  which 
distinguishes  Dr.  Neale. 

Place  has,  therefore,  still  been  left  for  another 
effort  to  bring  the  Cluniac's  verses  into  a  more  per- 
fect English  dress.  From  this  close  imitation  in 
all  respects,  both  Neale  and  Coles  have  recoiled. 
The  compiler  of  the  "  Seven  Great  Hymns"  speaks 
of  Bernard's  verse  as  "  so  difficult  that  the  English 
language  is  incapable  of  expressing  it."  Dr.  Neale 
states  that  he  u  deviated  from  his  ordinary  rule  of 
adopting  the  measure  of  the  original  ;  because  our 
language,  if  it  could  be  tortured  into  any  distant 
resemblance  of  its  rhythm,  would  utterly  fail  to  give 
any  idea  of  the  majestic  sweetness  of  the  Latin." 
Bernard  himself  exclaims,  when  recounting  its  diffi- 
culties, and  alluding  to  the  failure  of  Hildebert  de 
Lavardin  and  Wichard  of  Lyons,  two  eminent  ver- 
sifiers of  his  day  :  "  I  may  then  assert,  not  in  osten- 
tation, but  with  humble  confidence,  that  if  I  had 
not  received,  directly  from  on  high,  the  gift  of  in- 
spiration and  intelligence,  I  had  not  dared  to  attempt 
an  enterprise  so  little  accorded  to  the  powers  of  the 
human  mind."  In  commenting  upon  this  extract, 
Dr.    Coles    adds  :     "  What    was     difficult    for    the 


Xii  INTRODUCTION. 

author  would  be  tenfold  more  difficult  for  the  trans- 
lator, because  there  hang  upon  him  numerous  clogs 
from  which  the  other  is  free."  He  says,  however, 
in  another  place,  that  "  While  one  would  not  care  to 
prosecute  it  through  a  long  poem,  we  are  persuaded 
the  thing  could  be  done,  and  in  a  manner  to  make  the 
verses  tolerably  readable  and  effective" 

It  is  on  the  strength  of  this  expression  that  the 
present  translation  is  attempted. 

The  design  was  formed  in  Chicago,  towards  the 
latter  part  of  1866,  and  occupied  intervals  of  leisure 
from  that  date  until  its  completion,  in  Philadelphia, 
in  April,  1867.  Its  possibility  was  suggested  by  an 
examination  of  the  Latin  verses,  as  given  in  the 
"  Seven  Great  Hymns,"  and  a  confidence  that  their 
structure  had  been — partially,  at  least — misunder- 
stood. The  following  analysis  will,  it  is  thought, 
bear  out  this  statement. 

The  measure  is  called  "  leonine  and  tailed  rhyme, 
with  lines  in  three  parts,  between  which  a  caesura  is 
not  admissible."  Each  line  consists  of  a  first  part 
composed  of  two  dactyls,  a  second  part  containing 
two  more  dactyls,  and  a  third  part  made  up  of  a 
dactyl  and  a  trochee.     The  last  dactyls  of  the  first 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

and  second  parts  rhyme  together,  and  the  lines  are  in 
couplets — the  final  trochees  also  rhyming.  This  re- 
mark upon  the  dactylic  nature  of  the  rhymes  in  the 
first  two  parts  is  not  made  by  Neale  or  Coles,  or 
the  compiler  of  the  "  Seven  Great  Hymns."  They 
all  italicise  the  last  two  syllables,  whereas  it  should 
be  the  last  three^  i.  e.,  the  foot  itself.  Take,  for 
example,  the  sixth  of  the  introductory  eight  lines, 

Sobria  in U holt  ||  Improbl  pu/uat  ||  utraqiie  juste, 

which  is,  in  all  respects,  a  perfect  line — each  foot 
being  a  word,  and  the  rhyme  unimpeachable.  So 
with  the  line  immediately  succeeding  : 

Ille  \)us$Liiui8  II  Ille  grswisslm&s  \  ecce!  venlt  Rex  ! 

The  poem  is  a  daring  effort  to  combine  a  dactylic 
hexameter  (in  which  the  last  syllable  is  common) 
with  the  monkish  rhyming  usual  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
This  constitutes  its  extreme  difficulty.  It  seems, 
therefore,  that  certain  principles  and  licenses  which 
Bernard  employed  are  lawful  in  any  translation. 
They  are  these  which  I  have  placed  below  : 

1.  The  use  of  similar,  though  not  identical  vowel-sounds  (our 
"  allowable  rhymes";,  e.  g.,  novFssima  and  ptTssima. 

2 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 

2.  The  rhyming  of  the  two  short  syllables  of  the  dactyls, 
even  when  introduced  by  a  different  consonant,  and  preceded 
by  the  same  syllable,  e.  g.,  homo  reus  and  homo  Deiis,  proelia 
and  priemia,  gloria  and  sobria,  where  in  each  case  the  con- 
sonant goes  with  the  first  short  syllable  in  the  spelling. 

3.  The  rhyme  must,  however,  be  perfectly  dactylic,  so  far  as 
possible,  e.  g.,  tribulatio  and  recreiitio,  laurea  and  atirea. 

4.  When  Bernard  permits  himself  a  license  as  to  the  long 
syllable  (a  thing  very  frequent  with  him),  a  translator  can 
surely  be  allowed  a  like  privilege  in  respect  to  the  first  short 
syllable.  Bernard's  looseness  in  this  part  of  the  construction 
is  so  great,  that  it  becomes  more  general  tha  then  usage  which 
is  strictly  correct.  This  led  to  the  belief  that  the  only  rhyme 
of  the  first  two  parts  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  first  two  syllables 
of  one  dactyl  were  identical  with  those  of  the  other.  A  fal- 
lacy on  the  face  of  it.  But,  in  view  of  Bernard's  own  liberty 
in  the  matter,  the  present  translation  pays  more  attention  to 
the  beginning  and  end  of  the  dactyl  than  it  does  to  the 
middle — that  syllable  having  no  accent,  either  primary  or 
secondary,  and  being,  therefore,  easil)  slurred  in  reading. 
But  the  closing  syllable  has  always  been  carefully  handled, 
since  this  aforesaid  secondary  accent  always  comes  on  it  when 
the  foot  is  at  all  broken. 

These  principles  thus  laid  down  have  never  been 
violated  by  the  present  version,  except  in  two  in- 
stances, where  the  discordance  is  very  slight,  and 
where  it  was  necessary  to  preserve  an  exact  agree- 


INTRODUCTION.  xv 

ment  with  the  original,  even  in  its  faults.  And  the 
license  then  taken  is  less  than  Bernard  himself  has 
claimed. 

That  the  present  translation  may  be  found  accept- 
able, is  hoped,  for  several  reasons  : 

1.  It  is  as  close  an  imitation  of  the  measure  as  can  be  con- 
structed from  the  English  language. 

2.  It  endeavors,  like  the  version  of  Dr.  Coles,  to  be  a  true 
and  literal  rendering,  line  for  line,  and  often  word  for  word. 

3.  It  seeks,  so  far  as  may  be,  to  catch  the  spirit  of  that 
"  heavenly  homesickness"  so  admirably  seized  by  Dr.  Xeale. 

4.  Its  main  purpose,  like  that  of  Dean  Trench,  is  to  spread 
wider  through  Christendom  the  knowledge  of  a  poem  which 
is  the  ''real  and  deep  utterance"  of  a  fervent  soul. 

May  it,  even  in  some  small  degree,  lift  us  into  a 
purer  air — placing  us  on  that  "  Hill  called  Clear," 
from  which  our  longing  eyes  can  discern  the  glories 
of  the  Heavenly  Land.  May  it  comfort  us  in  our 
waiting  until  u  the  former  things  have  passed  awav," 
and  we  shall  go  to  be  forever  with  the  Lord. 

S.  W.   D. 

April,  1S67 


THE     HEAVENLY    LAND 


LAUS  PATRIAE  CCELESTIS. 


HORA  noviflima,  tempora  peilima 
funt  ;   vigilemus  ! 
Ecce  !   minaciter  imminet  Arbiter 

ille  fupremus  ! 
Imminet,  imminet  et  mala  terminet, 

aequa  coronet, 
Re&a  remuneret,  anxia  liberet, 

aethera  donet  ; 
Auferat  afpera  duraque  pondera 

mentes  onuftae, 
Sobria  muniat,  improba  puniat 

utraque  jufte. 
Ille  piiflimus,  ille  graviffimus, 

ecce  !   venit  Rex  ! 
Surgat  homo  reus  !     Inftat  Homo  Deus 

a  Patre  Judex. 


"THE    HEAVENLY    LAND.' 


THESE    are    the    latter    times,   these    are    not 
better  times,   let  us  stand  waiting: 
Lo,   how  with   awfulness    He,  first    in    lawfulness, 

comes  arbitrating  ! 
Nearer  and  nearer  yet  ! — Wrong  shall  in  terror  set, 

right   shine  refulgent. 
Sad  ones   He  liberates,  righteous  remunerates,  ever 

indulgent  ; 
Harshness   he    mitigates,    burdened    souls   animates, 

freeing  them   lightly  ; 
Holy  ones   blesseth    He,    wicked    distresseth   He — 

each   alike  rightly. 
He  the  benignest   One,  He  the  divinest   One,  see! 

as   King  reigneth  ; 
God-man  from  God  appears — man   bursts   the  sod 

of  years — Judgment  remaineth! 


LAUS  PATRIJE   CCELESTIS. 

Hie  breve  vivitur,  hie  breve  plangitur, 

hie  breve  fletur  : 
Non  breve  vivere,  non  breve  plangere 

retribuetur  ; 
O  retributio  !   flat  brevis  actio 

vita  perennis  ; 
O  retributio  !   coelica  manfio 

flat  lue  plenis  ; 
Quid  datur  et  quibus  ?      iEther  egentibus 

et  cruce  dignis, 
Sidera  vermibus,  optima  fontibus, 

aftra  malignis. 
Sunt  modo  praelia,  poftmodo  praemia  ; 

Qualia  ?     Plena, 
Plena  refeitio,  nullaque  paffio, 

nullaque  poena. 
Spe  modo  vivitur,  et  Syon  angitur 

a  Babylone  ; 
Nunc  tribulatio  ;   tunc  recreatio, 

fceptra,  coronae  ; 
Tunc  nova  gloria  pectora  fobria 

clarificabit, 
Solvet  enigmata,  veraque  fabbata 

continuabit. 
Liber  et  hoftibus,  et  dominantibus 

ibit  Hebraeus  ; 
Liber  habebit'ur  et  celebrabitur 

hinc  jubilaeus. 


THE  HEAVENLY  LAND. 


5 


Briefly  we  tarry  here,  briefly  are  harried  here,  here 
is  brief  sorrow  ; 

But    not    to    brevity  comes   our    longevity  due    on 
that  morrow. 

O  morn  victorious  !    short   fight  and  glorious — then 
life  unending  : 

O  morn  victorious  !    homes   meritorious  on  us  at- 
tending. 

u  What  and   to  whom  given  ?"     Fullness  of   high 
heaven  to  the  unworthy  ; 

Best    things  to   heedless  ones,  guerdons    to    speed- 
less  ones,  stars  to  the  earthy. 

Battle's   malignities  gain    for  us  dignities — "  What 
are  they  ?"     say  you  ? 

Full,  full  replenishment,  freedom  from  banishment, 
none  there  to  fray  you. 

Though  she  is  bound  and  fast,  Sion  is  crowned  at 
last  (hope  rules  our  going). 

Now,  tribulation  comes  ;  then,  new  creation  comes., 
kingdoms  bestowing. 

Then    shall    fresh   glory-light    make   the   old    story 
bright,  raising  each   spirit, 

Ending    obscurity ;     true    Sabbath    purity   then   we 
inherit. 

Far  over  many  seas,  kept  from  his  enemies,  sing- 
ing in  gladness, 

Then    shall    the  Jew  go  free,  holding  his  jubilee, 
rescued  from  sadness. 
3 


LAUS  PATRIAE  CCELESTIS. 

Patria  luminis,  infcia  turbinis, 

infcia  litis, 
Cive  replebitur,  amplificabitur 

Ifraelitis  : 
Patria  fplendida,  terraque  florida, 

libera  fpinis, 
Danda  fidelibus  eft  ibi  civibus, 

hie  peregrinis. 
Tunc  erit  omnibus  infpicientibus 

ora  Tonantis 
Summa  potentia,  plena  fcientia, 

pax  pia  fanclis ; 
Pax  fine  crimine,  pax  fine  turbine, 

pax  fine  rixa, 
Meta  laboribus,  atque  tumultibus 

anchora  fixa. 
Pars  mea  Rex  meus,  in  proprio  Deus 

ipfe  decore 
Vifus  amabitur,  atque  videbitur 

Au&or  in  ore. 
Tunc  Jacob  Ifrael,  et  Lia  tunc  Rachel 

efficietur  \ 
Tunc  Syon  atria  pulchraque  patria 

perficietur 
O  bona  Patria  !  lumina  fobria 
te  fpeculantur, 
Ad  tua  nomina  fobria  lumina 

collacrymantur : 


THE  HEAVENLY  LAND.  n 

Land  of  delightfulness,  safe  from  all  spitefulness, 
safe  from  all  trouble, 

Thou  shalt  be  filled  again,  Israel  built  again,  joy 
shall  redouble. 

Land  all  beneficent,  country  magnificent,  succored 
from  dangers, 

Given  thou  art  to  be  and  there  have  part  in  thee 
home-born  and  strangers  ; 

While  upon  men  around,  glory  shall  then  abound, 
vision   supernal 

Of  that  great  dignity,  full  of  benignity,  peace,  pure 
eternal — 

Peace  without  wickedness,  peace  without  wretch- 
edness, peace  without  quarrel, 

Goal  to  all  wanderings,  rest  to  all  ponderings,  con- 
quest and  laurel. 

Portion  shall  then  be  mine  in  the  dear  Lord  divine  ; 
I  shall  distinguish 

Him  the  Sole  Beautiful,  whom  the  true  dutiful 
never  relinquish. 

Jacob  with  Israel  and  Leah  with  Rachel  then 
change  condition; 

Then  Sion's  palace  halls  rise  where  no  malice  falls, 
lift  to  completion. 

O  fairest  Holy  Land,  our  eyes  have  wholly  scanned 

calmly,  thy  splendor; 
At  thy  mere  mention  oft,  moved  by  attention  soft, 

we  have  grown  tender. 


LAUS  PATRIAE   CCELESTIS. 

Eft  tua  mentio  pectoris  unctio^ 

cura  doloris, 
Concipientibus  aethera  mentibus 

ignis  amoris. 
Tu  locus  unicus,  illeque  coelicus 

es  paradifus, 
Non  ibi  lacryma,  fed  placidiffima 

gaudia,  rifus. 
Eft  ibi  confita  laurus,  et  infita 

cedrus  hyfopo  ; 
Sunt  radiantia  jafpide  moenia, 

clara  pyropo  : 
Hinc  tibi  fardius,  inde  topazius, 

hinc  amethyftus  ; 
Eft  tua  fabrica  concio  coelica, 

gemmaque  Chriftus. 
Tu  fine  littore,  tu  fine  tempore — 

fons  modd  rivus  ! 
Dulce  bonis  fapis,  eftque  tibi  lapis 

undique  vivus. 
Eft  tibi  laurea,  dos  datur  aurea, 

Sponfa  decora  ; 
Primaque  Principis  ofcula  fufcipis, 

infpicis  ora  : 
Candida  lilia,  viva  monilia 

funt  tibi,  Sponfa  ; 
Agnus  adeft  tibi,  Sponfus  adeft  tibi, 

lux  fpeciofa  : 


THE  HEAVENLY  LAND.  g 

Vision  and  speech   of   thee  unto   us  teach  of   thee 

whene'er  we  languish; 
Breath   from   thy  cherished   winds,   cheers  our  nigh 

perished  minds,  curing  our  anguish. 
Thou    art    our    Paradise,  glowing    with    fairy  dyes 

which  we   strive  after  ; 
Not    there    come    tears    again,   placidest    joy    shall 

reign,   music  and  laughter. 
There,  sown  in  equal  guise,  cedar  and   laurel  rise 

hyssop-attended  \ 
Bright  gold   and   jasper  stone,  clear  as   no   Hesper 

shone,  make  thy  walls  splendid. 
There,  upon  either  hand,  sardius  and  topaz  stand, 

amethysts  mingle. 
There  art  thou  permanent,  throne  of  the  firmament, 

Christ  there  is  single. 
Thou  hast  no  wave  or  strand,  thou  hast  no  grave  or 

band — rill  and  yet  river  ! 
Sweet  wines  there  flow  for  us,  jewels  there  glow  for 

us,  radiant  ever. 
Laurels  and  golden  toys  better  than  olden  joys  thou 

there  shalt  gather: 
Yet  in  thy  deference  Jesus  hath  preference,  His  art 

thou  rather. 
Lilies  like  driven  snow,  gems  set  in  even  row,  wait 

for  thy  wearing. 
That  Lamb  is  still  with  thee,  that  Spouse  is  still  with 

thee,  clear  light  declaring. 


10  LAUS  PATRIAE  CCELESTIS. 

Tota  negotia,  cantica  dulcia 

dulce  tonare, 
Tam  mala  debita,  quam  bona  praebita 

conjubilare. 
Urbs  Syon  aurea,  patria  lactea, 

cive  decora, 
Omne  cor  obruis,  omnibus  obftruis 

et  cor  et  ora. 
Nefcio,  nefcio,  quae  jubilatio, 

lux  tibi  quali«, 
Quam  focialia  gaudia,  gloria 

quam  fpecialis  : 
Laude  ftudens  ea  tollere,  mens  mea 

vi&a  fatifcit : 
O  bona  gloria  !   vincor  ;   in  omnia 

laus  tua  vicit. 
Sunt  Syon  atria  conjubilantia, 

martyre  plena, 
Cive  micantia,  Principe  ftantia, 

luce  ferena : 
Eft  ibi  pafcua,  mitibus  afflua, 

praeftita  fan&is, 
Regis  ibi  thronus,  agminis  et  fonus 

eft  epulantis. 
Gens  duce  splendida,  concio  Candida 

veftibus  albis 
Sunt  fine  fletibus  in  Syon  aedibus, 

aedibus  almis ; 


THE  HEAVENLY  LAND.  j  l 

No  occupation  there,  no  aspiration  there,  save  but 

sweet  singing, 
Telling  of  life  preserved  granted  for  grief  deserved, 

gratitude  bringing. 
City  of  lustre  rare,  none  but   the  just  are  there, 

thou  shalt  not  crumble  ; 
Proud  hearts  are  stupefied  and,  from  the  Crucified, 

learn  to  be  humble. 
Naught   I   know,  naught   I   know,   what  joys   then 

ought  to  grow,  what  rays  shine  o'er  thee, 
How  deep  thy  pleasures  are,  how  rare  thy  treasures 

are,  in  years  before  thee  ! 
When   I   have  tried  thy  praise,  wonder  denied  my 

lays,  foiled  I  desisted. 
O  best  of  any  light !   in  thee  does  any  sight  fail  un- 
assisted. 

There  is  the  corridor  where  martyrs  o'er  and   o'er 

sing,  all  together  ; 
There  is  the  shining  host,  Jesus  enshrining  most  in 

the  clear  weather  ; 
There  is  the  pasture  ground  where  all  the  meek  are 

found,  where  saints  are  resting  ; 
There  is  the  royal  throne,  whither  comes  joy  alone, 

joined  with  glad  feasting  ; 
There  is  a  nation  bright  in  congregation  white,  clad 

in  pure  raiment  ; 
No  lamentations  there  !   such  habitations  fair  ask  for 

no  payment. 


I2  LAUS  PATRIAE  CCELESTIS. 

Sunt  fine  crimine,  funt  fine  turbine, 

funt  fine  lite 
In  Syon  aedibus  editioribus 

Ifraelitae. 
Urbs  Syon  inclyta,  gloria  debita 

glorificandis, 
Tu  bona  vifibus  interioribus 

intima  pandis : 
Intima  lumina,  mentis  acumina 

te  fpeculantur, 
Pectora  flammea  fpe  modo,  poftea 

forte  lucrantur. 
Urbs  Syon  unica,  manfio  myftica, 

condita  coelo, 
Nunc  tibi  gaudeo,  nunc  mihi  lugeo — 

triftor,  anhelo : 
Te  quia  corpore  non  queo,  pecl:ore 

faepe  pene»tro, 
Sed  caro  terrea,  terraque  carnea, 

mox  cado  retro. 
Nemo  retexere,  nemoque  promere 

fuftinet  ore, 
Quo  tua  moenia,  quo  capitalia 

plena  decore ; 
Opprimit  omne  cor  ille  tuus  decor, 

O  Syon,  O  pax — 
Urbs  fine  tempore,  nulla  poteft  fore 

laus  tibi  mendax  ; 


THE  HEAVENLY  LAND. 


*3 


Free  from  all  wickedness,  free  from  all  wretchedness, 

free  from  contention, 
Safely  in  peace  at  home  Israel  shall  cease  to  roam, 

cease  from  dissension. 
Sion,  thou   city   blest,  they  whom   thy  pity   blessed 

soon  shall  possess  thee — 
Thou  who  bestowest  good  upon  our  lowest  mood 

till  we  confess  thee. 
With   my   mind's  vision  I   scan  thine  Elysian  sky, 

study  thy  story  ; 
Hope  now  my  burning  thought  comforts,  but  turns 

me  not  yet  from  thy  glory. 
Sion,  majestic  place,  mansion  of  mystic  grace,  heaven- 
built  o'er  me, 
Now  I  rejoice  in  thee,  now  does  my  voice  in  me 

fail — I  long  for  thee  ! 
Thee,  though  my  flesh  be  weak,  strive  I  afresh  to 

seek  by  my  heart's  yearning ; 
But,  through  my  earthiness  and  earth's  unworthiness, 

faint  in  my  learning  : 
No  one  discloseth  yet,  no  one  exposeth  yet,  unto  us 

mortals 
Where  are  thy  walls  of  light,  on  which  there  falls 

no  night,  or  where  thy  portals. 
Thou  dost  each  soul  oppress  with  thy  fair  holiness, 

Sion  the  peaceful ! 
City  where  time  is  not,  praise  through  my  rhyme  is 

not  aught  but  disgraceful. 
4 


H 


LAUS  PATRIAE  CCELESTIS. 

O  fine  luxibus,  O  fine  lu&ibus, 

O  fine  lite, 
Splendida  curia,  florida  patria, 

patria  vitae! 
Urbs  Syon  inclyta,  turris  et  edita 

littore  tuto, 
Te  peto,  te  colo,  te  flagro,  te  volo — 

canto,  faluto  ; 
Nee  mentis  peto,  nam  mentis  meto 

morte  perire, 
Nee  reticens  tego,  quod  mentis  ego 

filius  irae : 
Vita  quidem  mea,  vita  nimis  rea, 

mortua  vita, 
Quippe  reatibus  exitialibus 

obruta,  trita. 
Spe  tamen  ambulo,  praemia  poftulo 

fpeque  fideque, 
Ilia  perennia  poftulo  praemia 

nocte  dieque. 
Me  Pater  optimus  atque  piiflimus 

ille  creavit ; 
In  lue  pertulit,  ex  lue  fuftulit, 

a  lue  lavit. 
Gratia  coelica  fuftinet  unica 

totius  orbis, 
Parcere  fordibus,  interioribus 

unclio  morbis  > 


THE  HEAVENLY  LAND.  jr 

O  thou  secure  from  sin,  whom  tears  endure  not  in — 

thou  without  striving  ; 
Land  of  the  rarest  grace,  country  of  fairest  face — 

ever  surviving  ! 
Sion  renowned  and  vast,  thy  towers  are  found  at 

last  in  safe  location  ; 
Search  for  thee,  care  for  thee,  love,  hope  and  prayer 

for  thee,  is  my  vocation. 
Not  through  my  good   I   crave,  for  nothing  good   I 

have,  death  is  my  merit  ; 
Nor  does  my  reticence  court  thy  beneficence,  wrath 

I  inherit. 
Living  indeed  has  been  living  indeed  in  sin — living 

yet  dying  : 
Guilty  already  held,   pride  now  already   quelled,  no 

more  defying — - 
Yet  do  I  go  in  faith  ;  honors  I  know  He  saith  crown 

my  trust  rightly  ; 
Yes,  I  can  seek  them  still,  however  weak  in  skill, 

daily  and  nightly. 
Me  that  divinest  One,  me  that  benignest  One,  God, 

has  created  ; 
In  my  sin  bore  with  me,  kept  good  in  store  for  me, 

washed,  renovated. 
Grace  such  as  His,  alone  brings  us  to  bliss  unknown: 

earth's  sole  provision, 
Fitted  to  spare  the  cursed,  salving  with  care  the  worst 

from  Death's  incision. 


1 6  LAUS  FATRIJE  CCELESTIS. 

Diluit  omnia  coelica  gratia, 

fons  David  undans 
Omnia  diluit,  omnibus  affluit, 

omnia  mundans  : 
O  pia  gratia  !   celfa  palatia 

cernere  praefta, 
Ut  videam  bona,  feftaque  confona, 

coelica  fefta. 
O  mea,  fpes  mea  !  tu  Syon  aurea, 

clarior  auro, 
Agmine  fplendida,  ftans  duce,  florida 

perpete  lauro, 
O  bona  patria  ! — num  tua  gaudia 

teque  videbo  ? 
O  bona  patria  ! — num  tua  praemia 

plena  tenebo  ? 
Die  mihi,  rlagito,  verbaque  reddito, 

dicque,  Videbis. 
Spem  folidam  gero  ;  remne  tenens  ero  ? 

die,  Retinebis. 
O  facer,  O  pius,  O  ter  et  amplius 

ille  beatus, 
Cui  fua  pars  Deus  ! — O  mifer,  O  reus, 

hac  viduatus  ! 

Bernardus  Cluniacensis. 


THE  HEAVENLY  LAND. 


J7 


Grace  our  guilt   sweeps  away,  David's   fount   keeps 

alway  freshly  upspringing  ; 
That   stream  which   flows   for  all,  that  which   arose 

for  all,  all  pureness  bringing. 
O  thou  abounding  love,  be  thou  redounding  love! — 

show  me  thy  dwelling, 
That   I   may  see  the  blessed  gathered  with   thee  at 

rest — hear  anthems  swelling. 
O  thou,  my  trust  of  old,  Sion,  whose  dust  of  gold 

our  gold  outshineth, 
Where  saints  in  long  array,  praise  Christ  with  song 

alway — no  flower  declineth. 
Father-land   best  for  me,  shall  /  find  rest  in  thee  ? 

shall  /  behold  thee  ? 
Father-land  best  for  me,  shall  /  be  blessed  in  thee  ? 

shall  grace  enfold  me  ? 
Speak  to  me  now  I  pray,  answer  and  show  the  way, 

say  "  Thou  shalt  gain  me." 
Then  shall  my  trust  be  strong — but  wilt  thou  tarry 

long  ?      O  say  "  Attain  me." 
Sacred   and   free  from  ill,  blessings   for   thee  fulfil, 

widening  ever  : 
God  shall  thy  stay  appear — Ah  !   how  shall  they  ap- 
pear who  from  Him  sever  ! 

Explicit. 

Dona  nobis,  Domine, 

Haecce  amplioraque 

Filii  e  sanguine. — Amen  ! 


"JUST  AS  I  AM," 


Ille  qui  fum,  et  line  fpe 
Nifi.  in  tuo  fanguine 
Et  in  vocatu  apud  Te, 

O  Dei  Agne,  venio  ! 

Ille  qui  fum,  nee  commorans 
Ut  purus  fim,  at  obfecrana ; 
Ad  Te  qui  nunc  ftas  condonans, 
O  Dei  Agne,  venio  ! 

Ille  qui  fum,  in  proeliis 
Jactatus,  et  in  dubiis — 
Intra  extraque  femper  lis, 

O  Dei  Agne,  venio  ! 

Ille  qui  fum,  miferrimus, 
Caecus  pauperque  penitus 
(In  Te  procumbat  animus), 

O  Dei  Agne,  venio  ! 


"JUST  AS  i  am:1  Ig 

Ilium  qui  fum  recipies 
Et  purum  plane  facies 
Quod  Tibi  fido  indies, 

O  Dei  Agne,  venio  ! 

Ille  qui  fum  ! — Amafti  me 
Et  clauftra  fra£ta  funt  a  Te  : 
Nunc  Tuus,  Tuus  unice, 

O  Dei  Agne,  venio  ! 

From  the  English  of  Charlotte  Elliott. 


